


The Eerie Landau

by Monstrous_Moonshine



Series: Mid-Ballum-er Murders [2]
Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: AU, Boys In Love, Established Relationship, M/M, Mild Language, Murder, Murder Mystery, Non-Explicit Sex, car crash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:35:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29364102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monstrous_Moonshine/pseuds/Monstrous_Moonshine
Summary: Ben and Callum are dating and things are going well.But a car crash in the village sends shockwaves through the local community and it’s up to Callum to try to sort through what’s going on.  Meanwhile, Ben is struggling with his own demons.But are the two things related?
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell
Series: Mid-Ballum-er Murders [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2119554
Comments: 18
Kudos: 56





	1. Chapter 1

It was a dark, quiet evening in the village of Bridhillarstrat, and most residents were in their houses, watching tv programmes, already tucked up in bed or reading. Alfred’s cottage was lit up with soft table lamps, curtains drawn against the chilly evening air. The last remnants of the evening meal were on the table in the kitchen, but the occupants were in the more comfortable sitting room. In fact, Ben was currently entwined around Callum on one of the sofas, kissing so much it was like he was a teenager again.

Their relationship had blossomed over the last few weeks and although it was still relatively new, both of them knew where this was going. Ben hadn’t felt this happy in what seemed like forever, and going slow had its benefits. Kissing Callum was something he felt like he could do for hours every single night and luckily Callum seemed to be of the same mindset. They’d not spent a lot of time apart since that first kiss, learning each other’s likes and dislikes, talking about their pasts and their future dreams, finding out what they liked to eat and watch and discuss and kissing. Lots and lots of kissing, to be fair, something Ben hadn’t realised until this point was probably more sensual than having full on sex with someone. He’d learnt so much about the shape and the taste of Callum’s mouth, how he could get him to groan with his lips and tongue, how quickly he’d learnt the same about Ben. And yet, night after night, all he wanted to do was kiss him over and over again. Just kissing? No, it was so much more than that.

They’d been lying on the sofa for a few hours now, starting off sitting next to each other after their meal and now all pretense had gone and Ben was cradled in the v of Callum’s legs, one of his hands tangled in the elder man's hair and the other stroking over his side. Callum’s hands were running over Ben’s back, tantalisingly sliding over the thin strip of skin that had appeared at the bottom of his T-shirt, keeping him close as their lips met. It was perfect, so perfect in fact that Ben knew that at some point very soon, Callum would be staying the night. 

Life in the village was settled, he had friends, a boyfriend, no father and no pressure from London and he was happy, happier than he thought he’d ever be, despite finding a body in the woods around a month ago. Their relationship had caused many raised eyebrows in the village, Callum, a local boy and a successful DI, shacking up with a new city boy with a gangster past was always going to fuel gossip. But the first time they’d gone out together, to the pub, they’d tried to act like mates and nothing more and had failed dismally, ending up playing footsie under the table. Jay had merely shaken his head at them. “About bloody time,” he’d said dryly, and that was all that mattered to Ben, that Jay was happy for them. Everyone else could be ignored, after all.

Tonight, Callum was on call and even though it meant he could spend the evening with Ben, he had to be prepared to leave at any time. They’d had water with their meal, another perk of having a policeman boyfriend meant that Ben’s alcohol consumption had decreased, leaving him feeling fitter than he had ever felt before. Ben sincerely hoped he wouldn’t be called away, but was also prepared for it. It had happened before, something Callum found hard. He’d said he was hard to have a relationship with because of shifts and being called away if something happened and Ben was trying not to react when it happened. It was hard, but not because he resented Callum having to go, more because he found he was increasingly worried about the other man. His job was dangerous and he was the senior officer in the local area, he had to deal with a lot of things and Ben did not want him hurt.

He shifted on the sofa, pressing himself further into Callum and relishing in the low moan the elder man uttered as he licked into his mouth, slow and deep. Callum’s hands slid under his T-shirt, up his spine, leaving goosebumps in their wake and Ben pulled back, eyes darkened as he gazed down at Callum. He was just about to ask him to stay, to move upstairs, when the damn mobile phone Callum had placed on the table when they came into the room started to ring.

“Damn,” Callum said and Ben moved off him immediately because he had to take the call, even though he draped his arms around Callum’s shoulders as he sat up and picked up the mobile. “I’m so sorry,” he dropped a kiss to the end of Ben’s nose and then stood up and went into the hallway where he could answer the call in private.

When Callum came back in he looked both inherently serious and deeply irritated. “You’ve got to go?” Ben asked but it wasn’t really a question.

“Yeah, I’m so sorry,” Callum sat down to pull on his boots and the tie he’d taken off when they retired to the sofa. “Told you dating me would be a nightmare.”

“No,” Ben said softly, moving closer and kissing his cheek lightly. “More of a dream than a nightmare. I understand. Go fight crime.”

Callum sighed heavily and pressed into Ben’s touch for a moment. “Not that, unfortunately. It’s a report of a car crash, a head on collision, not far from here. That’s the only good bit about the whole hideous thing.”

“Fatalities?” Ben guessed, there was no other reason why there would have been a call for a DI at a car crash, and as Callum nodded grimly he rested his forehead against the elder man's temple, trying to convey his compassion.

“Yeah, I think so. Awful, by the sound of it. Look, I’d better go, I’ll call you tomorrow, right?”

“You could come back here afterwards,” Ben offered before he could double think the statement. He knew Callum would be going to a cold and lonely flat, with memories of what he was about to deal with, and he wanted nothing else but to be there for him if he would let him.

“Ben, I…”

“Just to sleep, or cuddle if you like. The spare room’s made up, you can stay in there.”

“I don’t think I’ll be very good company,” Callum admitted, but there was a hopeful look in his eyes that spoke volumes about what he really wanted.

“It doesn’t matter,” Ben spoke softly, letting his lips graze Callum’s forehead, noticing the shudder that elicited.

“It may be really late….”

“Stop it. I want you to come here, if you want it too, then come back. I’ll leave the door unlocked until you get here, if it’s that late I’ll go to bed. We can talk over breakfast. I just don’t want you being alone.” Ben pulled back, so he could look Callum in the eyes and hold onto his wrists as he spoke and he saw the way Callum’s face changed as he smiled slowly.

“Ok,” he promised, and Ben could see the longing in his face. “Ok, you’ve twisted my arm. I’ll lock up when I get here.”

“Good,” Ben kissed him once, lightly, on the lips. “Now go, go and inspectate. Be safe, ok?”

It was gone three in the morning when the door went. Ben had gone to bed as promised but hadn’t gone to sleep, preferring to sit up and watch something he had no recollection of on his laptop. He got up and padded to the top of the stairs, the light soft behind him as Callum made his way up, his eyes lingering on Ben’s T-shirt and bare feet. “Hey,” he breathed as Callum got close and he could see how tired and drained he looked. “How was it?”

“Grim,” was all Callum said, but the strain in his face said it all and Ben couldn’t help but open his arms, allowing Callum to fall into them. He squeezed him tightly, dropping a light kiss to the shoulder next to him as Callum folded into his embrace, head tucking onto his shoulder and breathing unsteady as he tried to get control of himself back.

“You want to talk about it? It may help,” Ben offered, once he could tell Callum’s breathing was more or less back to normal.

“Trust me. You don’t want to hear,” Callum shuddered as he pulled back out of Ben’s embrace, his eyes red. “Promise me you never drive when you’ve had a sleeping pill, please, Ben.”

“I don’t and I won’t,” Ben promised immediately, knowing Callum needed the reassurance. He could guess why he’d asked for that promise. He slid a finger under Callum’s chin and tilted his face upwards. “Was it bad?”

“A family, two kids in one of the cars,” Callum said, his voice cracking as he spoke, eyes filling again with tears. “All wiped out, no chance. The other driver hit them head on, by the looks of things. He’s alive, but only barely. Looks like he may have hit a patch of black ice and lost control. Been rushed to hospital, but chances aren’t great.”

“Oh, babe,” Ben whispered and pulled him back in, ignoring the pet name he’d just called Callum. Callum clung to him again, his shoulders heaving and Ben closed his eyes as he cuddled him close. He could only imagine what Callum had seen and had to deal with and his heart was breaking for the usually solid man he currently had falling apart in his arms.

Callum broke the hug eventually, wiping a hand over his face. “I’m sorry,” he said but Ben let his fingers slide over the back of his neck, through the short hairs at the base of his skull.

“No, don’t apologise,” he said gently. “I’m glad I’m here, if it helps.”

“It does,” Callum said, “it really does. Thank you.”

Ben stroked his arm gently. “Look, why don’t you try and get some sleep? The spare room is waiting, I’ve put out a spare t-shirt for you to sleep in and sorted you out a toothbrush. Maybe things will look better in the morning?” Callum nodded a little glumly but made no move to leave Ben’s side and he cocked his head to the side. “Or you could come in with me if you’d prefer? Just cuddling, nothing else, I promise. Scouts honour.”

Callum chuckled a little at that. “You were never a Scout, you told me that on our second date,” he pointed out. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I’m better by myself. Just want to get my head down.”

“You know where I am if you need me,” Ben said gently and he pressed a soft kiss to the corner of Callum’s mouth before letting him go.

  
  


Callum was so thankful to strip off his suit and pull on the worn T-shirt Ben had left out for him. It was soft and smelt like Ben and it helped calm him down as he settled into bed.

But once the lights were off and he was lying right in the centre, all he could see over and over in his mind was the aftermath of the crash. He scrubbed a hand over his face, recognising he was probably going to get no sleep that night and got up to maybe get a glass of water or splash his face, anything rather than lying and letting his thoughts run away with him. He got onto the landing and paused, seeing a thin strip of light under Ben’s bedroom door and his feet were moving before he even thought about what he was doing.

He knocked softly and pushed the door open to find Ben, sitting up in bed with his glasses on, watching something on his laptop. “Hi,” he greeted Callum, with a smile that made Callum’s eyes fill up again so he had to blink back tears. He didn’t know why he was so affected by his job, he’d never been before. But then, he’d never had a boyfriend who was willing to listen and support him before either. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“No,” Callum admitted. “I was wondering if the offer of your bed still stood?”

“Yeah, of course,” Ben pulled back the duvet and shuffled over, allowing Callum to slide in beside him. He closed his laptop, took off his glasses and switched off the bedside lamp, lying down so he was facing Callum. “You wanna talk?”

“Not really,” Callum said, letting his fingers trace over Ben’s cheekbones in the dark. “Just need something, you know,”

Ben shuffled closer, until his arms were wrapped tightly around Callum and raised his face so he could kiss him sweetly. “I know,” he said. “I’m here,” and he kissed him again.

He didn’t push further than chaste kisses, lying in each other’s arms, arms wrapped around each other but it was everything Callum needed. It didn’t take long before sleep overcame him and he fell asleep with Ben’s arms tight around his middle and his lips pressed to his shoulder.

Waking up felt a bit disorientating, and it didn’t help that the bed was empty. Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Callum realised he could hear noises downstairs, probably in the kitchen and made his way there, still in his boxers and T-shirt combination. Ben was standing by the kitchen window, mug in his hands and another one steaming on the side and as Callum shuffled into the room he turned and smiled. “Good morning,” he greeted Callum, like this wasn’t the first time they’d shared a bed, like this was normal.

“Morning,” Callum forwent the cup of tea to slide his hands around Ben’s face and kiss him hello, smiling at the way Ben pressed eagerly into the kiss, the way his arms slid around Callum’s waist.

“Did you sleep ok in the end?” Ben asked eventually, moving away and gesturing for Callum to take the mug of tea.

“Yeah, I did. It helped, having you there,” Callum admitted.

“Anytime. I mean it, it helped me too. Best night sleep I’d had in ages,” Ben ran his bare foot along Callum’s calf. They fell into silence as they ate toast and with a long suffering sigh, once he’d eaten Callum realised he’d have to leave the sanctuary of the cottage. He came back downstairs after a shower, dressed in his suit again, to find Ben waiting. 

“You want to come back tonight?” Ben asked as he smoothed his hands down the sleeves of Callum’s jacket. He knew he’d have to pop home, to grab fresh clothes but the lure of coming back here, to Ben’s arms, was too much for him to deny.

“Yes, if that’s ok with you?”

“Of course it is,” Ben said, rolling his eyes. “Shall I get the spare room ready for you?”

Callum laughed, something he’d not thought would be possible today, and answered that question with a kiss that was decidedly too deep for first thing in the morning.

He left Ben standing a little dopily on the doorstep, touching his lips and waving as Callum got into his car and drove away.

He went to that main station in Nerton first, picking up the initial reports that had come in from overnight about the crash. The analysis had shown that the second car had skidded at speed, something that they’d picked up on from the markings on the road. It looked like the driver had lost control somehow and that was why the crash had happened. It was always one of the worst things to have to deal with, a car crash, and Callum already had a headache.

He was looking over photos and drinking his third cup of coffee of the morning when his mobile rang and he picked it up half heartedly. “DI Highway.”

“Sir?” Lola’s voice came over the speaker. She was at the hospital, Callum had organised a police presence around the drivers room following their initial findings and Lola had gone on that morning to relive the overnight constable. “You may want to get here as soon as you can. He’s not very well at all, but he’s awake and lucid. He’s said something I think you may want to hear. But I’d be quick, the doctors don’t know how long he’s got.”

With a last look at the files spread over his desk, Callum heaved a sigh and left the office. He hoped that Lola was right and this was worth it.

Ben went to work that morning with a smile on his face that just wouldn’t leave. Despite the fact that they’d done nothing except kiss, the fact that Callum had spent the night in his bed and was likely to be doing the same tonight made him happy. He knew it was from less than ideal circumstances, but maybe it had just been the nudge they’d needed to move to the next stage of their budding relationship.

As well as the anticipation, he was feeling a bit conflicted. He was a Mitchell, he’d moved here to escape his father and to start afresh and he had done that - but lying underneath it all still was a distrust of the police and the worry that Callum would realise he wasn’t worth the effort, that he couldn’t be trusted fully. He was dating a policeman, he could imagine just what Phil would say to that. And he was always half waiting for the moment that Callum would get up and leave and not come back. He’d not been looking for anybody, he’d just been trying to sort himself out. Callum had come as a complete surprise, one which he was so happy he’d fallen across, but he was still convinced he wasn’t worth it. And he needed to make sure he didn’t fuck the whole thing up totally.

He was only working a half day and after he’d finished he headed into the village to find Jay. They still managed to meet up once a week, the three of them, for drinks and chats and plans to get Jay to ask out Honey, all of which fell onto deaf ears because Jay was convinced she wasn’t interested in him. Ben was sure he was blind, the attraction between them couldn’t have been clearer and Jay was his closest friend after all, he wanted him to be happy. Today, he had to grab some groceries - he’d decided to make a romantic meal for Callum after the night he’d had - and he was hoping he could convince Jay to go for a quick pint too.

Jay had heard about the crash already - no surprise there, considering the grapevine gossip tendencies of Bridhillarstrat, and he was quick to agree to a pint. “How’s Callum doing?” he asked once Ben had filled him in on what he knew.

“Not great,” Ben admitted, remembering the way Callum had fallen into his arms and sobbed last night, how he’d looked when he walked into the cottage.

“He’ll be ok,” Jay promised with a wink. “Got you now, hasn’t he?”

As he didn’t need too many things, Ben walked back to the cottage and was unpacking the bags in the kitchen when he caught it. He’d not smelt woodsmoke for a while, ever since he’d renamed the cottage. When he’d first moved in, he’d been convinced that figures he’d seen and the smell he kept on catching whiff of that no one else could smell was related to Albert, the first owner of the cottage. He’d not mentioned it for ages, he didn’t want anyone to think he was going crazy, after all, and Albert had become more of a comforting figure to him anyway. Lifting his head, he sniffed loudly, smiling a little to himself at the familiar scent. “Hi, Albert,” he said out loud before rolling his eyes at the ridiculousness of the situation. “Where have you been then? On holiday?”

There was, thankfully, no reply. Laughing at himself, he moved to put the things he’d bought into one of the cupboards, out of the way before making dinner, when all of a sudden, from behind him, there was a loud bang and a loud rattling noise.

He spun around, startled, thinking maybe the lightbulb had exploded, but there was nothing untoward in the room. Until he realised what had made the noise, and found a massive bag of unopened rice, that had been on the counter well away from the edge, had somehow fallen onto the floor and spilt everywhere.

“What the…” he said, suddenly uneasy. How had that bag fallen, it had been so far away from the edge? He gave a narrowed eye glare to the centre of the room. He’d never felt threatened in his cottage before, but this seemed like a direct target. “Stop that,” he said, unsure if he was telling himself or Albert. Ghosts don't exist, after all, it couldn’t have been Albert. 

He grabbed the dustpan and brush and swept up the rice in a foul mood. He was angry, at himself for being spooked by something that wasn’t a phantom, at Albert for making him think there was a ghost. “What the fuck is your problem?” he demanded of the room again. The only thing he could think of was something ridiculous - Callum. After all, when they’d first kissed, the lightbulb had blown in the porch and Callum had joked that Albert wasn’t on board with them having a relationship. And then today, after they’d spent the night in the same bed, this had happened. Ben laughed, sitting on the floor. Trust him to have a homophobic ghost in his house.

“Sorry, Al, he’s staying, so you’ll have to get used to it,” he muttered.

And then he gave himself a massive shake, because he’d somehow convinced himself that a homophobic ghost was throwing rice at him, when the packet probably had just fallen by itself and he was imagining things again. He was paranoid. Or at best, an idiot.


	2. Chapter 2

It was the end of a long and bizarre day and Callum had never been more thankful in his life that he had somewhere lovely to go instead of back to his cold flat. He’d popped home, to grab a bag with clothes in, realising that he couldn’t turn up to work three days in a row with the same shirt and tie combination, no matter what was going on with the case. In fact, he’d been lucky to get away with it today, considering what had happened, he’d only got one funny look off Lola when she had a breather.

Ben’s cheeks turned slightly pink when he kissed him hello and put his bag at the bottom of the stairs and then hustled him into the kitchen. He’d set out the table with flowers and candles and laid it properly and it was clear he was making dinner for them. Callum was so touched by the gesture. He knew dating a policeman was hard, he could be called at any given time even if he was officially off shift, but Ben had never made him feel like a burden.

“You off duty?” Ben asked as he stirred whatever he was cooking. “Wine?”

He made Callum sit down, a glass of red wine in his hands whilst he finished off the meal he was making. Callum refused any advances on his day whilst they were eating, but afterwards, they retired to the sitting room and Callum grabbed hold of Ben’s hand and pulled him so he could sit on his lap. This way, he was close enough to hold and kiss and Callum felt secure enough to open up about what had happened.

“You believe in ghosts, right?” he asked, pressing his face into Ben’s hair so he didn’t have to look at his face.

“Yeah, I guess so. I had an argument with one today anyway,” Ben huffed and as Callum pulled back so he could see him clearly, he shook his head and slid his hands around Callum’s neck. “Ignore me, why do you ask?” he said, with a soft kiss to help him forget.

“The driver… you know, of that second car, the one that hit the one with the family. He passed away this afternoon.”

Ben pulled him closer, his eyes soft. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s not that. It sounds silly…” Callum hesitated but Ben tilted his head upwards and kissed him once more, slow and soft and full of conviction.

“It’s not silly. Tell me?”

“He regained consciousness just before he passed away. Lola called me and I got there before it happened, and he made a statement that was really weird. Like, I don’t see how it can be correct, weird but I don’t know why he would say it either.”

“What?” Ben rested his forehead against Callum’s, so close Callum could see the flecks of gold in his beautiful blue eyes, face open and trusting.

“He said he swerved to avoid another vehicle. But the other car was on the right side of the road. He said it was horses and coach, like an old fashioned one, I mean.”

“God,” Ben breathed and Callum clung to his hips.

“He must have been making it up, right? He wouldn’t have seen anything like that. Trying to pass the blame?”

Ben leant back a bit so he could look into Callum’s eyes, and he looked serious. “But why would he say that? He could have said he swerved to avoid a fox. Something like that is such a bizarre thing to say. Maybe he actually thought he saw it?”

“Maybe a blow to the head when he crashed? I mean, I looked over the entire site and there wasn’t anything to even suggest a horse, let alone a coach.”

“You think it was a ghost?” Ben asked and Callum scoffed.

“No, of course not. No such things as ghosts. Right?”

Ben looked at him closely. “Look, I can ask around? See if there are any rumours of anything weird happening on that road? No one will think anything of it, if I do it it’s off record. They all think I’m a bit strange anyway.”

“It wouldn’t hurt, I suppose,” Callum sighed a little, pulling Ben back in. “It’s horrible, just… everything that I do has that potential to be nasty. But it’s always worse when kids are involved. Makes you really think about your own future.” Making a decision, he pulled Ben close and kissed him, hard and deep, letting his hands slid around so he was cupping Ben through his jeans. “You want to fuck me?”

Ben stared at him, gulping hard. “Are you sure you’re up for it?” he asked gently, trailing a finger over Callum’s cheek. “It’s not just a reaction?”

Callum swallowed, part of him knew Ben was right but this had been brewing for a while and he wanted it more than he could say. “I don’t want to wait. What if something happened to one of us? I want you. I like you a lot. Ben, please.”

Ben looked at him closely and then nodded. “Come on then. We’d better go to bed then,” he said gently and he kissed Callum once, full of promise, and took his hand to lead him upstairs.

In the bedroom, they stripped each other slowly, in between kisses. When Callum was sprawling on the bed, a rather red Ben pulled out a box of condoms and a bottle of lube from his bedside table. “Thought I’d be prepared,” he admitted.

Callum pulled him down so he was skin to skin on top of him. “I like a man that’s prepared. Maybe you were a scout after all?” he teased lightly, tilting his head upwards for a deep kiss. “I may have some in my bag too,” he admitted and was pleased with the laugh that got him.

“How long? Since you had sex, I mean?” Ben asked, letting his lips linger against the skin of Callum’s neck, at the hinge of his jaw.

“Too long.” Callum whispered, “I’ll need some time, if that’s ok.”

Ben pressed him into the bed, hips rocking down maddeningly. “Oh, that’s perfect, babe,” he murmured.

Ben opened him up meticulously as they learnt each other’s bodies, where to kiss, where elicited moans and groans, the sensitive spots that were a lovely surprise to each of them. When Ben pushed inside, it wasn’t the hard, rough sex Callum had half been expecting, rather it was world shifting, soft edged love making that meant so much to him. He came embarrassingly quickly, muffling his moan in Ben’s shoulder, encouraging him to reach his completion within his body still. Afterwards, lying with Ben’s fingers tracing patterns over his back, he leant back so he could look him in the eye.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly.

“What for? Being perfect?” Ben huffed.

“Ben!”

Ben moved closer, kissing him sweetly. “It’s fine, it was perfect. You know why? Because I want to do it again with you, I want to wake up next to you, I want you here. You’re the first person I want to do all that with. Besides,” and he leered at Callum, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “We could always try again if you really want to. Such a hardship!”

It was much later, or very early, when they eventually decided that sleep was needed and Callum dropped off quickly, wrapped around a warm body tight in his arms. It seemed sleeping with Ben meant he could actually sleep and not just worry about things. The soft snuffly snoring that Ben made was so cute, he could get used to this very quickly.

Ben also dropped off to sleep quickly, feeling Callum’s fingers running through his hair and his heart beating against his cheek where it was pressed against his chest was a better tonic than any sleeping pill. He lay in Callum’s arms, feeling happy and secure and wanted. The sex had been incredible, soft, slow, gentle, full of promise and for someone who had only dabbled in one night stands before, this was something he’d never imagined having. The elder man was warm and welcoming and sleep came so easily, something it hadn’t done for months.

But Ben dreamt all night. Nothing concrete that he could remember later, just a feeling of something following him as he walked down endless dark roads. He never saw it or heard it, there was just that feeling of foreboding as he tried to escape whatever was trailing him. And it never stopped.

It was not quite dawn when Ben jerked awake, bone tired and with a lingering sense of fear inside him. Despite the hours of sleep, it felt like he’d been awake all night. His heart was pounding and he was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and he felt so uneasy but he didn't really know why. Next to him, Callum mumbled something I’m his sleep and reached out for Ben, nestling closer to him like he could sense something wasn’t quite right. With a sigh, Ben settled down as close as he could, wrapping his arms around Callum and resting his head on his shoulder. It was so comforting to have the elder man there with him. He knew it had only been a dream, but he was sure he wouldn’t be sleeping for the rest of the night.

It was just light when Callum started to stir, his arms tightening around Ben and his eyelashes fluttering. When he opened them, Ben could see the change of emotions flickering over his sleepy face, confusion as to where he was, realisation when he remembered he was in Ben’s bed and then happiness as he smiled at Ben. “Good morning,” he whispered, quiet in the dim light. “Sleep well?”

Ben deflected the question the best way he knew, sliding so he was covering Callum’s naked body with his own, feeling his morning arousal against his belly. “You sore?” he asked, with a soft kiss to Callum’s lips.

“Depends on what you’re asking for?” Callum smiled back, sinking into kisses and touches and a lazy morning blow job that made Ben forget his uneasy dreams for a while.

He was making breakfast when Callum came downstairs after a shower, in his shirt and tie. “I could get used to this,” Callum joked as he sat down to toast, jam and tea and it was only the fact that they were trying to take things slowly that made Ben hang on from offering him a spare key.

“What are you doing today?” he asked, “I know you can’t tell me much about the case but what are you going to do about what the driver told you?”

“I have no idea,” Callum admitted, low and quiet and Ben reached over and held his hand. “Just go and see what happens I guess. At this moment in time, your guess is as good as mine.”

Callum was still feeling happy when he got to the station in Nerton, memories of the night and the morning too much for him to be upset. He liked Ben a lot, more than he’d liked anyone for a while and having someone to talk to, who listened and cared, made things much easier for him to cope with.

His happiness lasted as long as it took for Lola to come into the station, mid morning. She came to his office and knocked. “Sir? A word?” she said and Callum waved her in. He trusted Lola more than anyone else at work and the look on her face worried him.

“What’s up?”

“Well, after Mr Hawkins, you know, the driver of the second car, after he passed away yesterday I was sent to his house to tell his next of kin.”

Callum winced, that had been a shit shift for poor Lola, there was no mistaking that. Even if they’d all had to do it at some point, it never got easier. Lola was good at that side of the job, she had a nature that seemed to help with breaking such awful news. But today she seemed on edge, something he’d never seen her look like before after having to talk to family members. “What happened?”

“So he left behind a wife, Mrs Emmie Hawkins. And… It’s going to sound a bit…. I don’t want you to think I’m making something out of nothing but….” Lola started, hesitated and started again, twisting her hands and this made Callum even more concerned.

“Lo, I know you. I trust you. If you feel something is off then it probably is. Come on, spit it out.”

“It felt like… weird. Like her reaction was off somehow.”

“Maybe it was how she dealt with it? Sometimes the shock makes people act funny when they first get told.” Callum suggested.

“I know that,” Lola snapped at him. “It wasn’t my first time telling someone. I’ve seen denial, I’ve seen hysteria, I’ve seen it all. But she was too grief stricken. It felt like it was too practised. If you know what I’m saying.”

“I think you need to be explicit, Detective Constable,” Callum leant forward, steepling his fingers. “Just for the sake of the case and the avoidance of doubt, if we’re going to be looking into this further.”

“I don’t think it came as a surprise to her,” Lola said.


	3. Chapter 3

Ben was in a strange mood. The bad dreams, plus the lingering remains of what Callum had been going through and spoke about last night, had made him a little edgy, despite the loveliness of the night and this morning. After Callum had left for work, he’d pottered around the house a little. The worst thing about having a part time job that didn’t really stretch him mentally meant there were lots of days when he was just left with his own thoughts, not exactly the best place for him to be. He’d considered getting a different job, but at the moment in time the idea of leaving and looking for something else was just not tenable. Maybe in the future, when he wasn’t so worried about Phil looking for him, or when he wasn’t convinced he was going to mess up a new relationship.

This was a day off, which wasn’t a great thing, because all he had to do was sit and watch tv. He knew he could get into the garden, Callum had started to show him how to tend to the borders, but he was too edgy to do it properly. He thought about baking or ringing his mum, but he didn’t really want to do either. In the end, he decided to walk into the village, something that always seemed to calm him down. He wasn’t sure if it was the walk itself, or the chance to see people, or getting nice coffee from the little shop, but he’d found it the most enjoyable thing about being in the village. After Callum, obviously.

When he got to the village the shop was already shut up, a disappointment considering Jay was his closest friend and usually the person Ben went to for help or advice or just a friendly ear. And he had volunteered to ask around for Callum after all, so it was annoying he wasn’t there. Shrugging, he went to the pub, there was likely only one other place Jay would be and he was not going to go there. When he walked into the loudl bright bar, he was hailed loudly by the man himself, but he wasn’t alone. Having inadvertently stumbled on the very thing he had been trying to avoid, Ben had no choice but to pick up his pint and wander over to where Jay and Honey were having lunch.

“I’m not staying,” he said quickly as he got closer.

“Don’t be silly, stay for a chat,” Jay invited, “we're just waiting for our food at the moment anyway. How are you?”

Ben sent Honey a glance, wondering how annoyed she’d be that he’d been invited as a third wheel to sit with them, but he needn’t have worried - she was quite possibly the nicest person he’d ever met. “Alright. Callum’s a bit messed up though.”

“Oh, yeah, the crash. I heard about it. How dreadful,” Honey said.

“Hmmm,” Ben said non committedly, wondering how he was going to bring up what he’d promised Callum. It was one thing to talk about it to his boyfriend and another to Jay and Honey. They probably already thought he was strange, and they were the closest friends he had. He didn’t want to scare them away anymore.

Jay had picked up on the nerves however, something he seemed to shrewdly be able to do to Ben all the time. “Come on, spit it out, whatever you want to ask. Can’t be worse than a haunted cottage, ah?”

“Well…” Ben sighed and at Jay’s wry smile, he set his pint down. “Look, it does sound weird, but… have either of you heard anything about a ghostly horse and coach? Maybe a local tale?”

“Why, have you seen one?” Honey asked gently.

“Not me,” Ben was thankful he could answer this honestly. “Someone else though. I said I’d ask around, see if anything came up.”

“I’ve never heard of it,” Jay declared but Honey put her hand over his.

“It’s a common enough English village tale, Ben,” she said. “Olden days, coach driver, horses, hold ups, you know the stories. I’ve not heard of anything being seen around here though, sorry. And it’s not my area of expertise, I’m afraid.”

“But have you asked Whitney? She’s pretty knowledgeable about all that sort of stuff. She’d be my go to person for things like this,” Jay suggested.

Ben had never heard of her before, despite being in the village for a few months. 

“Whitney?” 

After finishing his pint and getting tips from Jay and Honey on how to approach the conversation, Ben left the pub and went in search of the bookshop. He’d never been in before, not being a big reader, but Whitney owned it. It was just after lunch and so although the shop was open there was no one else in it. When he pushed the door, a little bell rang and he entered into a slightly dingy shop full of tall, crammed bookshelves, with the musty, woody smell of old paper hanging in the air. He made his way to the desk, where a young lady was sitting behind, scowling at something she was reading. “Whitney?” he said as he approached but she didn’t look up until he put a hand on the counter next to her.

She startled as she saw his hand and then before he was even aware of anything, she grabbed a large metal bookmark and had it pointed right at his face. “Who are you and what do you want?” she demanded.

Ben held his hands up. “Sorry, sorry, I just wanted to ask you something, sorry if I scared you,” he said, trying to placate her.

Whitney narrowed her eyes at him but dropped the bookmark. “You’re the guy who moved into Primrose Cottage before the name change, right? Dating the DI? Not seen you in here before.”

“That’s me, I’m Ben. Do you always greet your customers like that?” he asked and was rewarded by a smile. 

“Maybe that’s why I don’t have many customers,” she joked and Ben found that he quite liked her sense of humour. “I’m Whit. What do you want to ask me?”

“Something about local history.”

“This isn’t a library, you know, I do sell books,” Whitney said pointedly and Ben grinned a little sheepishly.

“Jay and Honey told me you may be able to help me,” he said and was pleased to see the almost shy smile that flashed over her face for a second.

“Fine. Make it quick though. You never know when I’ll have a rush.”

“I was wondering if you knew of any hauntings in the village,” Ben asked after a slight hesitation. Whitney frowned slightly, but it was clear she was thinking.

“There’s Brindle Way, the footpath that runs from the bottom of the village by the church up the hill. Towards your cottage actually. It’s an old track actually, probably from prehistoric times. It was probably a bier path, etched into the countryside permanently.”

“A bier path?” Ben quiered, unsure of what she was getting at.

“A corpse path. Linking old burial sites. Liminal, you know.” Whitney explained and as Ben nodded, trying to make it look like he knew what she was talking about, she rolled her eyes. “Transitional areas, like where the veil between worlds is a bit thin.”

“Haunted?” Ben confirmed, waiting for Whitney to nod before asking. “Do you believe in that?”

“I’m not sure,” Whitney leant closer and said quietly. “But it doesn’t hurt to keep an open mind about the supernatural, right?”

“Right,” Ben said slowly, unsure about how much she knew about his cottage and what had happened there. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and dived straight in. “Actually, I was thinking of a more specific type of haunting. Have you heard of a ghostly coach and horses anywhere in the village?”

Whitney frowned a little. “No, sorry. There’s a grey lady in the old tower of the church and the pub reckons there’s a headless man who lives upstairs, but I’ve never heard of a coach and horses. Could be a one off though, an omen maybe.”

“An omen?”

“Yeah, like breaking a mirror or walking under a ladder. An omen of bad luck. There’s a traditional tale, about a coach and horseman appearing to someone just before they hit a patch of bad luck, luring them to a bad situation. Just a tale, maybe, but it could happen. If you believe in it, that is.”

“Thanks,” Ben murmured, not sure whether he’d gotten anything useful but at least he could mention this to Callum. “You’ve been very helpful.”

Whitney beamed at him and as he made to leave, pulled a leaflet from a pile next to her and handed it to him. “If you’re interested, I hold a book club once a week in here. Would be great to see you, you’d double the numbers that attend.”

Ben gaped a little and then hurriedly took the flyer. “Ok, maybe, I’ll think about it,” he muttered as he made a quick escape, stuffing the flyer into the inside pocket of his coat so he didn’t have to look at it again.

  
  


“What’s this?” Callum called from the sitting room that night and when Ben walked in, he was waving the book club leaflet. “You gonna turn into William Shakespeare or something?”

“Not bloody likely,” Ben muttered, pulling the leaflet out of Callum’s grasp and balling it up. “It’s from my detective work, about your bloody horse and cart. Got roped in by Whitney from the bookstore.”

“Whit… what’s she got you believing, then?” Callum’s smile was fond as he looked over a blushing Ben.

“That your driver may have seen it as a bad luck omen? Maybe a signal of his upcoming doom?”

Callum rolled his eyes. “I don’t believe in that kind of stuff, Ben, I’m a policeman. Facts and evidence only. Can I ask you a favour though? Is your mum still coming to visit tomorrow?”

“Yeah, she wants to know all the gossip about you, you know,” Ben said, moving closer and pinching Callum’s arse lightly.

Callum swatted him good naturedly. “I dread to think what on Earth you’re going to tell her,” he said. “But, could you take her to the tea room in the next village?” At Ben’s enquiring look he heaved a deep breath. “I can’t tell you much but the driver, his wife, Emmie Hawkins, she owns it. I want to see her reactions. Thought the two of you going may be the best way to do it without making her suspicious?”

Ben gave him a look. “Wasn’t it an accident?”

“I can’t say,” Callum clammed up but Ben heaved a sigh, knowing his boyfriend well enough to read between the lines.

“That’s fine, you know I’ll do it for you anyway,” Ben shrugged. “But it’ll come with a price…”

“Oh yeah? What kind of price?” Callum asked innocently and Ben laughed and flung himself onto his lap, kissing him hard and with intent.

Callum kissed back eagerly and soon they were sprawled on the coach, half undressed, exchanging breathless bruising kisses as they pushed against each other frantically.

Callum pulled back, lips reddened and eyes dark and smudged his thumb over Ben’s cheekbone. “Like that, is it,” he asked, “I guess you’d better take me to bed before I embarrass myself by coming in my boxers like a teenager.”

“Babe, you can come anyway you want to,” Ben promised and bit on Callum’s bottom lip before pulling him up to the bedroom. They fell onto Ben’s bed, divesting any remaining clothes, tangled together and desperate for each other. This time Callum opened Ben up with shaky fingers, but the sex that followed was hard and fast, Callum pounding into Ben’s willing body with a strength and rhythm that turned his insides to mush. It was a good job the cottage had no neighbours, with the creaking of the mattress and the noise of the headboard banging into the wall, let alone the moans and keens that came out of Ben himself, there would have been no disguising what they were doing. 

“Fuck,” Callum breathed afterwards, when they were lying in each other’s arms, breathless, panting and sweaty. “You ok?”

Ben lifted his face up, seeing the concern pass over the elder man’s at how rough he was obviously thinking he’d been and raised himself on an elbow to press his lips to his sweetly. “I’m fine. That was incredible. How was it for you?”

“Amazing,” Callum snuggled even closer now he was assured of Ben’s well-being, letting his hands stroke up and down Ben’s spine lazily and they kissed again, soft and gentle instead of hard and demanding which it had been mere moments before.

“I needed that,” Ben admitted. “Although, I don’t know if I’ll be able to walk for a week.”

“Sorry,” Callum started to apologise with a laugh at the image that created, but Ben halted him with another kiss.

“Don’t be. It was delicious. You’re incredible. I’ll return the favour for you if you want next time, see if I can get the same noises out of you.”

They cleaned up with the wipes Ben had now placed in the room and then snuggled in close together, yawning. Ben’s last thought was that sex was definitely a great substitute for sleeping pills, he’d never felt so much like sleep as he had these last two nights.

It hardly felt like any time had passed before Ben found himself walking the same road as in his previous dreams. But this time, instead of just the foreboding sense of someone following him, he could hear it. A low rumbling from the road behind him, gradually crescending as it got closer.

He didn’t want to turn around, something inside him was shouting not to, worried about whatever it was that was causing him to feel so frightened. But his body seemed to operate of its own accord and he stopped and turned slowly.

The noise was so loud by now and then out of the darkness that seemed to be engulfing everything, a large, dark shape loomed. Ben took a startled step backwards as it resolved into a large, black coach, pulled by 4 horses. And it was heading straight for him.

He turned around and stated running, trying his hardest to get away from what was coming behind him. The road was slippy and he had no grip, sliding everywhere over the tarmac. The hedges closed in either side of him, ripping at his face and clothes. His own breathing, ragged and harsh, filled the air but he could still hear it behind him. The sound of the horses hooves pounding the tarmac. The creaking of the coach. The rumble of the wheels. He knew it was getting closer, it was going to crush him, it was going to…

With a start, he woke up, heart pounding. He was in bed, next to Callum, not in a lane being chased by a coach. Damn Whitney and getting inside his head.

He ran a shaking hand over his face. Fuck. It was only early still and even though he knew it was only a dream it didn’t make things easier and he didn’t want to go back to sleep to fall back into it. In the end, he reached over and grabbed a sleeping pill out of the bottle he’d hidden in the drawer. At least with these things he never dreamt and that was what he craved more than the worry of taking one.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I’ve had a busy week and forgot to upload this chapter! I’m sorry!

“Ben?”

Ben struggled to open his eyes and blinked at the feeling of a soft warm hand on his bare shoulder. It was light already, and as things came into focus, he could see the lovely face of Callum, smiling gently as he stroked his skin with one hand. It took a second for Ben’s brain to catch up and realise that Callum was sitting on the edge of the bed, fully dressed. He sat up quickly, only realising how low the sheets had fallen when he saw the way Callum’s eyes were drawn downwards with a gulp.

“What time is it?” he asked and Callum’s eyes snapped back to his face.

“Seven. I’m sorry, I need to go to work.”

“You should have woken me up earlier, I could have given you a goodbye present,” Ben mumbled and Callum’s smile grew even wider.

“It’s ok, you looked like you needed the sleep. Don’t get up, I only wanted to come back and say goodbye. And I wanted to check, can I… can I come back later? If that’s not going to mess up your plans with your mum?”

Ben tilted his head to one side, looking at the slight pinkness to Callum’s cheeks, the way his fingers were still caressing the skin of his shoulder and collarbone, the hopefulness in his blue eyes. “Of course,” he said. “You’d never mess up any plans. Besides my mum is only popping for afternoon tea with me. She’ll be gone before you finish work, even if she’d prefer to meet you.”

“Maybe another time?” Callum suggested and Ben reached for him, sliding his arms around his neck at the innocent suggestion that meant he was planning on being around for a while. Callum was the first person to want to stay and it meant more to Ben than he could ever vocalise. He let his lips meet Callum’s in a physical representation of the words he couldn’t say, pulling him closer and closer.

Callum took a deep breath, his eyes sparkling and his hands cradled around Ben’s neck and bit his lips. “I do have to go, I have no time now,” he said softly, and he slid one hand down, across Ben’s chest to cup his cock through the thin sheets that were lying low on his hips. “But when I come back, I’ll hold you to this promise, right?”

“Oh, you’d better,” Ben groaned at the light stroke of Callum’s fingers and then scowled as he pulled back. “You know I’ll be thinking about you all day?”

“Good,” the kiss Callum gave him was all teeth and promise and then he stood up. “See you later?”

Once he’d left, Ben flopped back onto the bed. Without the lure of Callum and sex, the fogginess was back and he was finding it hard to think straight, even if he knew that sleep was beyond him. It didn’t take him long to decide it was best to get up rather than think about the lingering feeling of dread from the dream he’d had. Showering made him perk up and feel a bit better and he got dressed feeling a lot more positive about the day.

Downstairs, he saw a plate and mug washed up and tidily left to drain and it made him smile, working out that Callum must have had his own breakfast before leaving. He’d also washed up all the stuff from dinner last night that they’d left in their haste to get upstairs. “Wow, he washes and tidies up as well,” he said out loud but to no one in particular, unless Albert was listening. “Got to keep him, right?” He noticed a second mug, left on the side with a tea bag already in it and wondered a little guiltily just how deep asleep he’d been and how long Callum had tried to wake him up.

The feeling of the dream lingered, no matter that the day was nice and sunny. Ben was a little jumpy as he waited for Kathy to arrive, turning the tv up as loud as he could as a form of distraction. When she arrived, he was so keyed up that he was sure she could see it written all over his face.

“Shall we go for a walk before having lunch?” he suggested, trying to hide how much he wanted to be out in the fresh air.

“Sure,” Kathy agreed easily. “You can tell me all about the village and this young man of yours.”

They strolled into the village, Kathy charmed by the cobbled streets and quaint little shops, and before Ben had even realised where they were walking, they were on the overgrown Brindle Path that he’d heard about on the previous day from Whitney. It made sense, it headed back towards the cottage and the cars after all, but with the dream he’d had last night, he wasn’t sure how good an idea it was walking along a path he’d been told had such a history.

But with Kathy there, it was fine, the sun shining through the overgrown branches and lighting the ground up, the sound of birds chirping to each other the only sound they could hear. It was actually pleasant and Ben started to enjoy himself.

The path forked about halfway between the village and the cottage, one heading towards the Manor House and the other towards the main road. They took the path towards the road, realising they’d have to get back to the cottage sooner rather than later to go for lunch. Here, the path was lower, darker as the trees grew close overhead and it felt colder, although Ben wasn’t sure how much of that was psychological rather than a real change of weather.

He realised why, when they reached the end of the path and the main road, just a little way from the cottage. There was a post in the middle of the path, stopping cars from trying to drive along it, but right in front of them were dark skid marks on the road and a bent tree opposite. It sunk in to him that they were standing right where the accident had happened. Kathy was none the wiser, looking instead at the large amount of traffic that was travelling along the road.

“They go so fast,” she observed and Ben wondered if that had been half the problem, at night, where the drivers probably wouldn't have expected to see another car, travelling too fast for the road conditions.

He didn’t want to say anything to Kathy, but he shivered, really cold now. The entire place had changed, the wood looming rather than peaceful, dark rather than welcoming. “Let’s get home and go for lunch,” was all he mumbled instead and they walked back along the narrow footpath at the side of the road towards Albert’s cottage.

Ben had never been so happy to see the cottage again. Maybe it was the dream, maybe it was the memory of what had happened at the site they’d just walked past, but he was slightly freaked out and needed somewhere safe and warm to get himself back on kilter. And lunch with his mum would be a nice distraction too.

He drove to the next village, Callum’s favour ringing in his ears as well as the memory of what he’d spoken about with Whitney. As they pulled up in the nearest car park to the pretty tea room, he turned to Kathy. “Mum? You don’t think dreams reflect real life, do you? I mean, if you see something in a dream, it doesn’t mean it’s going to come true?”

Kathy looked at him, obviously not sure how serious he was being. “Dreams don’t come true, Ben,” she said, “or else I’d be living the high life with a sexy man in my bed.”

“Mum!” Ben groaned but she’d made him feel better about the coach he’d dreamt about at least. The idea that something that had caused an accident had attached itself to him, or worse, to Callum, and followed them home, had been lingering in his head for hours. 

They’d booked in for afternoon tea in the little tea room, pretty with vintage decorations and metal tables and chairs. Kathy was charmed instantly. “It’s lovely, dear,” she said fondly. “What a nice boy Callum is to suggest we come here. It’s a shame he’s working.”

Ben held off on saying why Callum had suggested they come here, unsure of what he could say to his mum or indeed, what he should know. But he kept an eye out for the owner even as they were shown to their seats in the little courtyard amongst the rose bushes. She was nowhere to be seen at the moment and he relaxed a little.

“So, tell me about Callum,” Kathy invited when they were sitting down, pot of tea between them and waiting on their afternoon tea to be brought to the table. “Is he the one?”

“Mum,” Ben was so embarrassed, he could feel how hot his ears were turning. “He’s lovely, but you can’t say things like that. We’ve only been together for a few weeks.”

“But you like him,” she said shrewdly. “He’s the first boy you’ve mentioned to me like this ever. I can’t wait to meet him.”

“He’ll not know what’s hit him,” Ben said and she hit his arm gently.

“Ok, I’m not that bad! I’ll hold off on the marriage annd baby chat until you’ve been together a lot longer.”

“Do not mention anything like that to him, ever! I don’t want to scare him off,” Ben pointed out.

Kathy took a deep breath. “I won’t. I’m happy for you, that’s all. You seem happy with him. I guess you’re not moving back to London anytime soon.”

“I am happy,” Ben admitted. “He makes me happy. Is that silly? Mum?” for Kathy had stopped listening to him and instead was staring over the courtyard towards the main door to the tea room.

“Oh no, it’s that police woman, the one who came and hassled me about you. What on earth does she want here?” she said crossly and Ben turned in his seat to see Callum’s partner, Lola, standing and talking to the waitress on seat duty. She looked incredibly professional but Ben knew how much his mother hated anyone hasselling her family and that she’d take a while to forgive Lola.

“That’s DS Pearce, she works with Callum ,” he said, leaning in close and whispering. “He may have let slip that one of the owners of this tea room just died and they are potentially investigating the widow. I bet she’s here to check up on something.”

As he watched, Lola spotted them across the courtyard and waved, smiling at them. Ben automatically waved back and then cursed as she headed towards them.

“Hello! Fancy seeing you here, it’s such a small world, right?” she said cheerfully, “mind if I join you?” and without waiting for a reply she sat down. Ben’s estimation of her skyrocketed, at the fact she didn’t even seem to mind that Kathy was giving her a proper death stare, eyes narrowed and lips thin. Ben hadn’t actually been too bothered by the fact Lola had been digging for dirt on him, considering what he’d found in his garden, the police wouldn’t have been doing their jobs if they didn’t at least ask about a Mitchell, and being with Callum had made him more mellow when it came to the police. But Kathy didn’t seem able to forgive or forget and she regarded Lola with a stony glare as she sat at their table.

Ben wondered if she’d come over on instructions from Callum, but she didn’t seem interested in anything apart from chatting to Kathy, even if she was keeping an eye out as well for the owner. Ben had to hide a chuckle when she enquired about Kathy’s cafe and was answered with a terse one worded answer. Lola seem unperturbed however, leaning over the table and saying seriously, “so can you vouch for Ben then?”

“What?” Kathy spluttered.

“Well, he is dating Callum. I need to keep an eye on him, after all, can’t have him hurting my best friend.”

Kathy was still spluttering, “I’ll have you know Ben is the best son I could ask for. Loyal, protective, wonderful, he could have any man he wanted to. Callum is a lucky man!”

“Callum’s very fit, you know, can Ben keep up with him?”

“I am 100% sure that Ben can keep up with Callum in any situation,” Kathy huffed but Ben had had enough.

“Do you two mind, I am here,” he interrupted them. “I’ll thank you to leave my relationship out of any conversation, please, it’s none of your business.”

Kathy was giving Lola a rather more gentler and understanding look now though, that made Ben want to groan. “Maybe we should discuss this without Ben?” she suggested and when Lola laughed, she finally smiled.

In fact, she’d relaxed so much that when the waitress brought over their afternoon teas, she actually said, “you’d better bring an extra plate and cup out, please,” and Lola beamed happily.

“So what brings you out here?” Ben asked, waiting until Lola had taken a massive bite of scone, jam and cream, she had been embarrassing him with his mother after all.

He watched in amusement as she turned first red, then purple in the effort to not spit out her mouthful or choke on it. Eventually she managed to swallow. “I’m here to check out the owner,” she confided in them, with a lot less integrity than Callum had. Either she thought Callum had already told Ben what was going on, or she was still trying to make things up to Kathy. “Her husband was killed the other night, and there have been questions raised about the way she’s acting.”

“Not every husband is a loss,” Kathy said darkly, with a glance over at Ben. He knew how his parents' marriage had ended, how hurt Kathy had been by his father.

“You’re right,” Lola said and her voice had taken on a sympathetic tone. “But you wouldn’t put on an over the top display of grief when you were told if that was the case, right?” She frowned. “I need to get a general picture of her mood, but she knows who I am and will probably refuse to say anything or act strangely if she sees me, so I’m trying to blend in and watch from afar.”

Kathy gave her a look. “Go and sit somewhere else,” she said, “leave it to me. What’s her name?”

Lola looked like she was arguing with herself but eventually gave in. “Emmie,” she said.

“And her husbands?”

“Carl. Why?”

“Best you don’t know, now, go on,” and Kathy shooed Lola away to a different table at the other side of the yard where she could keep an eye on things.

“Mum,” Ben warned, “what are you doing?”

“Hmmm. You don’t get married to Phil Mitchell without picking up some tricks. Watch and learn,” Kathy winked at him and picked up her cake like nothing was happening.

A lady, older and without an apron on, had come out of the shop and was walking around the tables, chatting to guests. Kathy looked over at her and winked at Ben. “I bet this is her, lets see what happens, shall we?”

As she came past with an empty tray, Kathy called over to her in a sympathetic tone. “Emmie? Hello, how are you? I heard about Carl, I’m so sorry. I’d been meaning to pop by for so long and then things got on top of me and I didn’t and now… well…. How are you coping?”

Emmie Hawkins looked surprised at first, then confused and then mildly panicked as she couldn’t place Kathy despite her seemingly knowing her husband.

“Oh yes, well, it was such a shock…but life goes on, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, well, sometimes it’s for the best, isn’t it? I mean, you know very well the trouble I had with Phil. Ben here will attest to that. Sometimes it can be a blessing in disguise,” Kathy said smoothly.

“Well, I won’t speak ill of the dead,” Mrs Hawkins said confidently, laying a hand on Kathy’s arm. “I’m sure Ben will agree with me. But you know how it is, I’ve been running this place by myself for so long, I’m sure I’ll manage.”

She smiled at both of them and moved off and Ben shook his head at his mum. “You’re a piece of work,” he said, but he was a bit in awe of her.

They met Lola outside in Ben’s car. Kathy was still pleased with her detective work. 

“I’m impressed,” Lola admitted.

“Did you see how she jumped at your name?” Kathy asked, a little smugly, “people are always too embarrassed to say they don’t remember someone and when I mentioned Ben she was so thankful to make it seem like she knew us.”

“Yes mum, we saw,” Ben said, but he touched his mums arm fondly.

“What did you think?” Lola asked.

“She didn’t seem overly upset,” Ben ventured, “more like she was discussing the weather or something inane like that.”

“She was hysterical when I told her yesterday,” Lola said thoughtfully.

“Seems like she got over it pretty fast then,” Kathy said. “A miraculous recovery.”

“It’s not grounds for anything though, is it?” Ben asked. “He was alone in the car when he crashed?”

“True,” Lola said slowly. “But Callum seems to think something dodgy’s going on and he’s usually pretty spot on. Except for with you, Ben. I mean, he asked me to suss out your mum! It was all his fault not mine!”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Breief, but not too explicit mentions of sex In case you want to avoid, after the bath scene.

Callum had just had a hard day at work. Dealing with the car crash was bad enough, without the idea of a ghostly coach hanging over the entire situation. He had sent a Lola out to check on the widow, following their concerns that she’d been acting strange, and her report had come back and caused more questions than it had answered. There was definitely something strange going on, and Callum hated the fact that he couldn’t put his finger on what was weird.

He was going round to Ben’s again. They’d not spent much time apart since they’d first gotten together and their relationship was turning quickly into the best part of Callum’s life. He’d never met anyone who made him feel like Ben, or accepted his job and working hours and stress like Ben did. Maybe it was getting to the stage for the next step in their relationship? After all, he was practically living at Albert’s Cottage anyway.

He picked up a takeaway after work and drove to the cottage, looking forward to seeing Ben after a stressful day. And after hearing about what Ben and Kathy had got up to, maybe a little bit of light stress relief was in order.

Ben was sitting on the sofa when he let himself in, rolling his eyes at the unlocked door yet again. Ben always said that the country was safer than London but as a cop, Callum couldn’t help but worry about burglars or opportunistic weirdos. He dropped a light kiss on Ben’s forehead as he passed through to the kitchen to dish up the Indian food he’d brought with him and was so hungry he at least waited until they’d finished eating before bringing up the exploits from earlier on.

“I hear you and your mum helped out with the case today,” he said, putting his plate to one side. “Lola was quite impressed and that’s saying something, she never admits to liking anything or anyone. Next thing, you’ll both be asking to be on my payroll!”

Ben laughed, head tilted to one side. “I’m glad you think it was helping, not interfering,” he said, with a slow smile that warmed Callum up from the inside.

“Definitely helping,” he said with a grin back. “I can’t say much, but it was quite… enlightening, shall I say.”

Ben looked up at him, face aglow, so beautiful in the dim lighting in the room. “It was fun, actually,” he admitted, “I never thought I’d say anything like that, being a Mitchell and all, but I guess I finally understood the excitement of finding something out about someone.”

“Well, I owe you one,” Callum admitted, wondering whether it was still too soon in their relationship to be admitting what he was feeling in his heart already.

“I know how you can pay me,” Ben teased lightly, moving over so he was straddling Callum’s lap and slanting his lips over Callum’s in a soft, enticing kiss.

Callum pulled back though, wanting to make something clear. “You know you don’t have to ask for payment in terms of sex, right? I don’t….”

Ben cut him off with another kiss, soft and sweet. “I know, Callum, I know.” He kissed him again, a slow brush of tongues that made Callum tremble and then he learnt back, so Callum had to slide his hands tight against his hips to keep him on his lap. “Take a bath with me?” he asked, almost shyly and Callum understood why. This was more intimate than having sex, Ben was willing to open himself up to Callum in the most sensual of ways and Callum could sense his hesitance even behind the clear consent.

“You sure?” he asked and was answered by a third kiss, simple but lingering in its sincerity.

They retired upstairs, to the large, vintage bath that had been in the cottage when Ben bought it. Callum wasn’t even aware that Ben had any bath products, but he sent a rather shy look as he procured a bottle of oil from the cupboard and proceeded to run a warm bath which smelt of citrus and lavender. Callum hadn’t even realised how tired and tense he was until he was sunk into the hot water, Ben in between his legs, back pressed to his chest. He closed his eyes, hand resting on Ben’s thigh, revelling in the closeness between them. 

“Are you ok?” Ben asked and Callum opened his eyes to find Ben had turned around and was watching him, eyes full of concern as he trailed a finger over Callum’s cheek, featherlight in his touch. “You look worn out. Is it really awful?”

Callum kissed his bare shoulder, breathing in the calming scent. “I’m ok. Really. I don’t want to burden you with any police shit, it’s just one of those cases.”

Ben turned back around, leant his head back onto Callum’s shoulder, his hand returning to caress his legs under the water. “I know you don’t want to tell me much, but I can just listen. Give you advice from the other side of things, if you like.”

“Can I ask? What happened, with your dad? Why’d you leave London?” somehow it was easier to ask Ben the question he’d avoided answering when he wasn’t looking straight at Callum and he was half expecting the sudden stiffness of Ben’s back and shoulders.

“I don’t know if I can tell you. Yet, anyway. But I wanted, no, needed, to get out of what he was asking me to do, he never really cared about me, just about what I could offer him. And when I couldn’t offer anymore, he was just willing to let me suffer.”

Callum rested his head against Ben’s, trying to convey his comfort to the man in his arms.

“It’s ok, if you never want to tell me,” he said, soft into Ben’s ear. “All I know is that you’re brave. Making that decision, moving here, alone, I think that’s the bravest thing anyone can do. And I’m here, if you ever want to tell me.”

“Callum,” Ben breathed and he turned in the bath and kissed Callum hard and deep. Just when things were starting to get a little soppy, he reached into the water and groped Callum’s balls, running his fingers up his half hard cock. “Why don’t we move this into the bedroom?” he suggested, leaning back so he could see the effect he was having on Callum.

Callum groaned a little but pressed upwards into another kiss, letting Ben’s fingers tighten where they were stroking. He knew this was Ben’s way of distraction, but with the talented fingers squeezing and playing with his dick and balls he had no chance of keeping on track with the conversation. “Yeah,” he breathed. “Please.”

The sex was slow and lazy after the bath, hand jobs leading to blow jobs leading to Ben thrusting deep and languidly into Callum’s body, perfect in its simplicity. And afterwards, curled up around Ben’s sweaty, lovely body, Callum reflected that even if life seemed a little shit, having someone around to share it with made things so much easier.

This time, the coach got close enough for Ben to smell the stench emanating from it, to hear the breathing of the horses pulling it. He ran faster, tiring quickly but not wanting to just give up, because if he did he had no idea what it would do when it caught him. “Leave me alone,” he choked as he ran, trying to grit out the words as loud as possible in between his own heaving breaths and pounding heart. He slipped, on the dirt, landing in his hands and knees but he pushed himself up and carried on despite the pain in his joints. He was in a narrow tunnel of trees, hedges closing in around him, no way out only forward to the scene of doom hanging in the air.

Despite his fall, the coach didn’t seem to get any closer and he had the horrible thought that it was chasing him, toying with him, eking out the fear just clawing under his skin. Was it something that was following him? He stopped and turned and….

Ben woke up, covered in sweat and shaking like a leaf. “Fuck,” he panted, quiet in the still air of the bedroom, letting his fingers touch the warm skin of a sleeping Callum just to ground him.

He couldn’t wake Callum, he’d seen how drawn and tense he was earlier, how much this stupid case was preying on his mind. So he got up and went downstairs, there was no way he was risking going back to sleep that night.

As he sat nursing a cup of black, strong coffee, he thought over his dreams, noticing an uneasy pattern. At first, he’d thought the combination of a wonderful man and lots of sex had made it easier for him to fall asleep. But now, in his addled and scared brain, he was twisting things. Maybe that thing, whatever it was, was trying to lure him in. Was it haunting his dreams so it could chase him, make him do something stupid, maybe some of the things he’d tried to hide from his past?

“Don’t be so fucking stupid,” he told himself firmly, but he wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince or whether it had worked.

  
  


It was light when Callum came downstairs. Ben could hear him moving upstairs and then taking the stairs two at a time as he came into the kitchen, his face worried as he looked over at Ben sitting at the table. “Morning,” was all he said, but the kiss he bent over to press against Ben’s lips was soft and sweet and said so much.

“I made you a coffee,” Ben pointed to the cup he’d poured when he’d heard the noises from upstairs and Callum picked it up, sat down and held his arms out to Ben. With a gulp, he folded himself onto Callum’s lap, tucking his head into the older man’s shoulder and breathing in the scent he was already starting to think of as home.

“Nightmares again?” Callum asked eventually, when Ben was starting to think he’d forgotten he had to go into work. 

“Hmmm,” Ben spoke into the join between Callum’s neck and collarbone, “I didn’t want to wake you up, sorry if I did.”

“It’s no problem,” Callum said softly and he slid a finger under Ben’s chin to raise his face so he could look into his eyes. “You didn’t wake me but you should have. Maybe I can help?”

“Thanks,” Ben whispered but Callum still heard and kissed him instead of any further words.

It was only the fact that Callum had work that stopped Ben from trying to take things further, instead after kissing for a while he slid off Callum’s lap almos regretfully and handed him a lunch he’d made whilst sitting fretting in the kitchen in the early morning. Callum took it with wide eyes. “Ben,” he said, almost reverently and kissed him again and again. “Walk me to work?”

Ben wasn’t sure if it was an attempt to get him out of the cottage, but it worked as they strolled to the station in the village hand in hand. It was a lovely morning, the sun was out and Callum was by his side and the lingering awfulness of the dream soon faded in the sunlight. It was lovely and peaceful and Ben felt happier than he had since those blasted dreams had started.

Until the peace was broken as they entered the village square, and Ben could see two women, fighting like animals, just outside the gates to the church. The vicar was there and trying to separate them with no success. They were screaming at each other, trying to scratch and claw at each other and with a shock, Ben realised he recognised one of them.

“Is that Mrs Hawkins?” he asked Callum, gaping at the sight of the placid widower he’d seen the day before trying to claw the other lady’s eyes out.

“Yep,” Callum said grimly, “who’s the other one though?”

“You’re the local cop, surely you should know?” Ben demanded and was met by a roll of eyes as Callum pushed forwards quicker than before to reach the fighting women as fast as he could.

The vicar was trying her best to get the situation under control, standing as close to the women as she could get and shouting at them with no real effect as far as Ben could see. “Ladies! Please! If you don’t stop this I’ll have to call the police!” she was saying, as she ducked from nearly being given a black eye by one of the women.

“You rang, vicar?” Callum’s voice cut across everything, loud and sure, and Ben had never actually seen him in full police mode, where everyone stopped to listen to him, sure, confident and so in control. “DI Callum Highway. What is going on here?”

“This bloody bitch won’t tell me when the funeral is!” the unknown woman shouted and it looked for a second like Emmie Hawkins was going to belt her again. Callum gave a long suffering sigh and moved so he was bodily in between them, keeping them at arms length from each other and then he turned to face the vicar, who seemed like the only sane one there. 

“Vicar?” he asked.

“I was sorting out the arrangements for Mr Hawkins funeral, with Mrs Hawkins here. We can’t set a firm date yet as the… as he hasn’t been released yet. But I wanted to start planning and putting things into place ready for when we can start. I was trying to explain this when this lady came up and started to demand explanations. There was a bit of altercation at that point.” the vicar explained, her face a little pale still.

“This whore has no business being anywhere near us!” Mrs Hawkins shouted, trying to claw her way around Callum.

He turned round to face her full on. “Now, Mrs Hawkins, leave it alone, please. In fact, why don’t you go home and leave me to deal with the situation? Before things get out of hand and I have to arrest you.”

“When are you going to let me bury my poor husband anyway?” she spat as she glared at him, hands on her hips.

Ben was impressed at how Callum didn’t even flinch. “When the post mortem has been done,” he said smoothly. “There’s a bit of a backlog, you see. It’ll be done as quickly as possible. I promise.”

“Besides, you didn’t seem very upset the other day when I came to your tea room, I wonder why you’re so keen to have the funeral,” Ben couldn’t help adding, despite the sudden glare he got off both Callum and the angry widower.

Mrs Hawkins stood gaping at him for a minute, her face alternating between turning white and red and then she turned on her heel and marched away, brushing past Ben as she stormed off, presumably home.

Left alone, Callum sent Ben an ironic raised eyebrow and a brief shake of his head and then turned to the other lady. “Now, who are you and what is your connection to the deceased?” 

“I’m Angela Baker,” she said, with a quiet dignity as she righted her clothes. “Carl Hawkins, he is… well he was… my lover. We were going to run away together. He was going to leave her!” she added quickly, like she was trying to convince them it wasn’t some sort of horrible affair. “He loved me and I loved him. And now he’s… he’s gone…”

Her face crumpled and she hid her eyes from them, but it was clear to Ben she was crying, wiping tears away with her hands that trembled slightly. Callum pursed his lips. “Hang on, she never mentioned this to us. Did she know about you, about this, that he was leaving her?”

“He was going to do it on the day of the accident. He called me, told me he’d done it, that he’d finally plucked up the courage to tell her and was leaving her. He hung up before he got in the car, but he was on his way to me when it happened…” her voice broke and she started crying in earnest.

Having coaxed her contact number out of her, Callum left her to the capable hands of the vicar and tucked his hand in Ben’s arm as he pulled him away from the church. He was obviously deep in thought, it was clear his brain was whirling with the new information he’d just been given but Ben was fixed on something else.

“Post mortem?” he enquired.

“Yeah, just routine,” Callum said but Ben snorted. He wasn’t Phil Mitchell’s son for nothing.

“No it isn’t, not when the cause of death is obvious. Only if there’s cause for concern about what’s happened,” he scoffed and Callum stopped and faced him, a smile gracing his face.

“Damn you,” he said fondly. “I forgot your background. Maybe I learnt something from you. Maybe I’ve learnt not to give up on a hunch, however stupid it seems.”

Ben linked their hands again, pulling Callum into a hug that was more about comfort than anything else. “So she lied then? About knowing that her husband had left the house that night, about knowing nothing about what was going on?”

“Looks like it,” Callum said grimly, “makes you wonder what else she lied about. She said she was happily married after all, but out of the two of them I know who I believe the most.”

“But she wasn’t in the car with him? How could she have done it? Tampered with the brakes maybe?”

“We checked the car properly and there was no issue,” Callum said thoughtfully. “I don’t know but I don’t trust her at all. Maybe the post mortem will show something?”

Ben stood on his tiptoes and kissed him once, lightly, letting his lips move gently against Callum’s own. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon. I have every faith in you, DI Highway.”

“I’m glad someone does,” Callum breathed out, hooking his fingers into Ben’s pockets and keeping him close.

  
  


“Cal? I mean, Sir?”

Callum looked up later that morning to see Lola standing in the doorway to his office, a piece of paper in her hand and a grim look on her face.

“What is it?” 

“The post mortem results on Carl Hawkins are in,” she said, coming into the office and sliding the paper into his desk.

“Well?” Callum asked, sure that things were going to go tits up, by the look on Lola’s face.

“Well, technically he died from the injuries he sustained in the crash.”

Callum reached for the paper, eyes fixed on Lola. “Technically….?”


End file.
